The characterization of Kate in Picoult's My Sister's Keeper is not very strong. Kate remains throughout the novel the "ill sister" and all that she does (or cannot do) revolves around her sickness. The reader only sees Kate through the eyes of others, and this is how her family portrays her. However, at the end of the novel when Kate finally has narrative voice, she is still the pitiful character in awe of her sister's strength and feeling guilty over her sister's death. Kate cannot get over feeling that Anna's death is her fault, and she says that she should be the one who is haunting Anna from the grave. Kate is not really an individual because she literally owes her life to Anna--Anna's donated kidney has put Kate into long-term remission.